[3] As I write, a great daily newspaper informs the world that it was the _first_ Marquis. “ Wenham.” And, whilst we are identifying the third Marquis in _Coningsby_ and _Vanity Fair_, reference may be made to another most unflattering portrait of that notorious nobleman in a book published anonymously in 1844, which was _immediately_ suppressed, but is now not infrequently to be found in second-hand book catalogues. The book was (I believe) written by John Mills, and had ten clever etched plates by George Standfast (probably a _nom de plume_). Copies in the parts as published are excessively rare. The title of the book is _D’Horsay; or the Follies of the Day, by a Man of Fashion_.[4] It dealt with the escapades, vices, and adventures of well-known men of the day under the following transparent pseudonyms: Count d’Horsay, the Marquis of Hereford, the Earl of Chesterlane, Mr. Pelham, General Reel, Lord George Bentick, Mr. George Robbins, auctioneer, the Earl of Raspberry Hill, Benjamin D——i, Lord Hunting-Castle, and others. The {14} account of the “closing scene in the life of the greatest debauchee the world has ever seen, the Marquis of Hereford,” is too horrible to repeat. [4] This scurrilous and poorly written book has lately been thought worthy of resurrection and republication. So much for the identity of the “Marquis of Steyne” as described in Thackeray’s letterpress, which need not be dwelt upon here at greater length, seeing that the immediate object of this chapter is to deal with the accompanying engraving and its history. And in proceeding to this examination it should not be forgotten, in fairness to the novelist, that Thackeray has explained that his characters were made up of little bits of various persons. This is no doubt true enough. At the same time, we cannot but be aware that, although the details may have been gathered, the outline has been drawn direct from the life. [Illustration: The Suppressed Portrait of the Marquis of Steyne] _Vanity Fair_ was issued originally in monthly parts. Its first title was _Vanity Fair: Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society_. Its first number was dated “January 1847,” and had “illustrations on steel and wood by the Author.” On p. 336 of the _earliest issue_ of this first edition appeared the wood engraving of the Marquis of Steyne, wanting which a first edition is, to the {15} bibliomaniac, _Hamlet_ with Hamlet left out. In the later issues, the engraving (which I here reproduce) was omitted, as also was the “rustic type” in which the title appeared on the first page.[5] The publishers were Messrs. Bradbury and Evans, {16} as was natural, Thackeray being at this time on the staff of _Punch_. In later editions of the novel, published by Messrs. Smith, Elder and Co., the engraving reappears—viz. on p. 22 of vol. ii. in the standard edition, and on p. 158, vol. ii., of the twenty-six-volume edition.[6]